Growing in Grace-filled Communities

Part of Something Bigger: Growing in Grace-Filled Communities

Hebrews 10:19-25

     God never intended for any of us to live the Christian life alone. That’s what I want to talk to you about today. I want you to know that, in addition to His Holy Spirit who lives in us, the main gift God has given us so that we don’t live the Christian life is alone is that he has given us one another in a church like LAC.

     In my estimation, the most difficult experience of all human existence is loneliness.  You don’t have to be a Christian to be aware of that.  In recent years, movies, books and TV shows have sought to drive that point home to us.  There is a current show on Fox Network called “The Last Man on Earth” that has at its heart the premise that we who are human desperately need relationships.   

    One of the most forceful demonstrations of this was the 2000 movie “Cast Away” starring Tom Hanks. In it, a FedEx plane crashed into the ocean because of a storm. Chuck Noland, a driven executive who found it difficult to make room in his life for meaningful relationships in his life, washed up on the beach of a deserted island where he would spend the next three years of his life in complete isolation

     As packages from the plane began to roll up on shore, one contained a Wilson volleyball. Noland’s bloody handprint on the ball made it look eerily human. With a human-like face and hair, Noland named it, what else, “Wilson”. Over many months, Wilson was Noland’s constant companion. He talked to Wilson. He laughed with Wilson, cried with Wilson, and shared his greatest fears and hopes with Wilson. When Noland came to the realization that he probably would never be rescued, he built a raft and placed Wilson on a prominent perch at the front of the raft

     One of the movie’s most moving scenes took place when Wilson was launched from his perch in a severe ocean storm and Noland was forced to make a decision between rescuing Wilson and saving his own life. Ultimately, he resigned himself to the loss and watched helplessly as Wilson drifted out of his life forever.

     Noland’s attachment to a blood stained volleyball with human features is a dramatic reminder of a foundational biblical truth: God made us in such a way were do not flourish outside of healthy, transparent and loving relationships. We were created both for relationships with God and with each other. In fact, it’s the consistent message of the Bible that the quality of our relationship with God rises and falls to a great extent on the quality of our relationships with one another. And the place God has placed within this neighborhood for you to have Christ-centered relationships is a local church like this one.

     Today I want to tell you this: One of the most important decisions you will ever make is whether you will make the commitment to be meaningfully engaged in authentic biblical community.

     This brings us today to the fourth message in our series on LAC’s Guiding Statement that we are calling “Part of Something Bigger.”  We have said that God is engaged in a big and wonderful mission in this world, i.e., to make everything new and right in his creation.  All things will be reconciled to him (Col 1:19-20).  That “everything” includes you!  Our church is committed to your growth in Christ as we saw several weeks ago in Col. 1:28: “We are to preach Christ, admonishing each one and teaching each one with all wisdom so that we may present each one complete in Christ.” 

     How does your growth toward becoming “complete in Christ” actually happen?  Last week, we took time to see how important it is for us to worship regularly with the entire church family in order to experience the ongoing growth in our walk with Christ that God intends.  But, today we will see a second essential way to be connected to the family of God.  We call it community.  The Bible teaches about life in a community of faith in many places – but today I want us to focus on Hebrews 10:19-25.

What is biblical community? Do not give up meeting together… (Heb 10:25).

     The word translated “meeting together” in 10:25 is “episunagogen”. You may be able to hear the word “synagogue” in that Greek word. It means coming together to be personally with others.  As I pointed out last week, this verse calls us to come together with the entire local church family in worship even as we are doing now.   But, the context tells us that the meeting together of the entire church family to worship also should lead to something else. Yes, we must worship together for all the reasons I spoke about last week.  But when you read vv. 19-25, you see that this passage a call to all of us in the church family to be involved personally in one another’s lives.  I usually put it this way: There is a world of difference between people being in vicinity of one another and people living in community with one another.

     Pastor Tim Keller says it a bit differently.  He says,  “A congregation is more than an aggregation. An aggregation is like a bunch of marbles in a bag.  A congregation is like grapes organically connected to one another on a vine.”  A bag of marbles may be close to one another but there is no organic connection.  But grapes on the vine share a source of life.  In a sense, every part of each grape, though distinct in some ways, has a connection to the other grapes on the vine.

     So, a church community is not simply a group of people who have come together for a concert, an event or for a speech – and then leaves.  God intends for the church to have each member connected to the rest – praying together, learning together, correcting and encouraging together… 

     According to the Bible, the church is a community (I call it a family or household of faith) – not just a place we go just to be taught or inspired. So, Heb 10:25 is surely about the gathered worship service. Great things are to happen in our worship gatherings together. But not everything can happen in that setting.  Heb 10:19-25 declares to us all that, if we are going to become Christ-like, we need both to worship together as a whole family and to come together into smaller fellowships such as our mid-sized classes or small groups.

     Look at vv. 19-23.  It tells us what holds us together as a local church family?

What do we have in common? (10:19-23) We have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus.

     The word “community” has to do with what a group of people have in common and Hebrews 10:19-23 tells us what we share together as well as any place in the Bible, i.e., we are all rescued by the blood of Jesus.  In Hebrews, before Jesus came, even the children of Israel could not draw near to God.  Instead, only the High Priest could enter the Most Holy Place on behalf of all the people – and he could only do it once a year, on Yom Kippur.  There was a curtain that separated people from drawing near to Jehovah God.

     But, the New Testament teaches us, because of the perfect life and sacrificial death of Jesus, we who trust him now have the privilege to draw near to God.  We can have the confidence to enter right into the presence of our Creator and know him as our Abba, as our personal Father.  I could say so much about this but will only make these things that we have in common: 

• We all have sinned and, on our own, have no personal access to our Holy God. As v.22 tells us, we all have guilt in our lives and need to be cleansed from sin.

• We experience access to God – but only through faith in Jesus who shed his blood to bring us to God.  

• Not one of us in church today is perfect yet -- but we all have a certain hope that God will keep his promise and bring us to completion in Christ. As v. 24 puts it, “We hold unswervingly to the hope we profess for he who promised us is faithful.”

   The result of this is that we who follow Jesus should be an awfully humble bunch. We know it took his death to rescue us. All of us who belong to God share these things in common.  It’s the basis for commun-ity!  So, how will God bring us to that completion in Christ?  Alongside the empower of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, the main gift God has given us so that we might be set free from sin and guilt and become complete in Christ is life in a local church like this one.

     I want you to know that I am fully aware of the fact that the inability of many churches to be the grace-filled places that allow for this kind of community is something many people are criticizing the organized church for in our day.  Sometimes, local churches are criticized for being too corporate in nature and interested only in getting big and becoming successful.  At other times, we are criticized for being too self-righteous so that people cannot open up their lives, find welcome in spite of sin, and experience healing among brothers and sisters in Christ.

     To the extent that either of those criticisms are true of us here at LAC or of me as your pastor, I sincerely apologize and declare to you that with the empowering work of the Holy Spirit who is in this congregation we are seeking to be characterized by the graciousness of Jesus.  We long to be a grace-filled community.  So, we know that we dare not condone sin in our lives or in the lives of other.  At the same time, we humbly know that we dare not be self-righteous.  Our only hope is that God has found a way to make us right with him, i.e., the precious blood of Jesus. As those rescued by grace, we seek to come together “to spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” 

      Let me tell you this: There is no place anywhere else in the world that you can find a community of rescued sinners called together to help one another grow – and empowered by the presence of God’s Spirit to have our lives become complete.  But that is God’s plan for us.  That’s what the local church is to be.

What must happen in a church community? Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds… Let us encourage one another… (10:24-25).

     The key to a local church actually doing what we must do so that each of us and all of us can grow is in two phrases in these verses: 1) “spur one another on” and 2) “encourage one another”.  When we think about those two phrases, we quickly realize several very practical truths:

#1: We must know one another well enough to be able to speak into one another’s lives.

     The word translated “consider” in v. 24 means to stop and think – to reflect.  The Bible calls us to establish places in our church family in which we can get to know one another personally, open up our lives to one another one another and thereby see how we might help a person move toward greater godliness.

     This is not easy for many of us.  I’m told women are better than men at this.  I hear that “millennials” are better than “baby boomers” at this.  So as a male baby boomer, I think I can make a lot of excuses about keeping to myself and staying away from the kind of community the Bible says I need.  But excuses are all I have.  The Bible says that if I will grow, I need to be involved in community so that I can “consider” the directions of others’ lives and others can consider mine.  This cannot – and sometimes dare not – happen in a huge public setting like the gathered worship serves.  There must be smaller gatherings where we can get to know one another, trust one another, and speak into one another’s lives. All of us need this.  We are to be in relationships close enough that we can “consider” the directions of one another’s lives.

     Such accountability doesn't need to have overtones of checking up and scolding. It works, instead, to encourage us and help us in our growth and commitments. For example, we may need to ask for guidance about how to handle a difficult relationship on the job or about how to put together a family budget that reflects our commitments about lifestyle and stewardship. Or, sometimes, we just need to have people ask how things are going. The community gives us a place to air our victories and our struggles, our successes and failures. It simply gives us a way of guiding each other ever more fully in the ways of Christ.

#2: We must have enough love for one another that we are willing to say important things – both encouraging and exhorting – to one another.

     Here, I want you to think about that phrase, “spur one another on” in v.24.  It is a very strong word. It’s a word that was used for a rider on a horse seeing the horse running toward danger and digging in the heels to re-direct the path the horse is on.  The point is that we often don’t even see the destructive directions of our lives – but others sometimes do.  We often try to hide the things in our lives so we need to have a place where we need to hide no more.  And this is not easy. What makes this possible?

*The trust that allows us to be open about what is real inside. (This takes time and honesty to develop.)

*The humility that is open to correction.

*The respect for others that allows us to receive their words without defensiveness.

*The courage to speak into others’ lives even when we know we need to be “spoken into” too.

*The love to take the risk to say, “I think you are living in a way that will harm yourself, those around you, and your walk with God.”

     We have to have the love, humility, and courage to say to someone in our small group, “We know you want to hold on to that grudge but you must forgive.”  “We know you want to engage in sex outside marriage but you must be faithful to God and your partner – or your future partner.” We need a community in which we can be spurred and we engage in spurring.

#3: We must be ready to walk alongside one another in the midst of life’s temptations and trials.

     In v. 25, we are told that in our community we are not only to “spur on” one another but also to encourage one another.  The word is the beautiful “parakaleo” – meaning to be called to walk alongside.  It’s what the Jesus says the Holy Spirit does in John 14.  This tells me what I know deep down inside, i.e., for me to grow I need both confrontation and support.  I’m sure you know that some people are better at one of these or the other.  But, a local church community group must engage in both.  You and I need both!  When we struggle or even fail, we must know that the community will not give up on us.  “Do not forsake meeting with one another…” That’s what the Bible commands.  Never give up on your brother or sister in Christ!  Jesus never gives up on the sinner who wants tomorrow to be different from today.  He offers hope for a new future to prostitutes, tax collectors, lepers, thieves on crosses – and to us.  And so should his family.

Now, I’m going to ask Pastor Jeff Mattesich to come up and share with you how we want to take some steps in making this kind of “community” available to you.

大使命的一部分: 在充滿恩典的團體中成長

希伯來書10：19-25

      神從未想要讓我們任何人獨自過基督徒的生活。這就是我今天所要和大家分享的。我想讓你知道，為了讓我們不至獨自過基督徒的生活，神除了將住在我們心中的聖靈賜給我們之外，還賜給我們的另一個重要的禮物，那就是，祂以教會的形式將我們賜給彼此。

      據我的估計，在人類的存在中，最困難的經歷就是孤獨。即使你不是基督徒，你也會知道這一點。近年來，電影、書籍和電視節目都在演繹著它。目前在福克斯廣播公司正在上映一個節目，叫做“地球上的最後一個人”，他的前提就是，人類迫切地需要彼此間的關系。

      最有力地表現出這一點的，是2000年湯姆漢克主演的電影“荒島余生”。電影中講述了一架聯邦快遞公司的飛機因風暴而失事墜海。公司員工查克·諾蘭是一個在人生中沒有時間建立重要人際關系的人。在事故發生後，他被沖到一個廢棄的荒島上，並在那個島上完全孤獨地度過了三年的時間。

      飛機上的包裹開始被沖到岸邊，其中一個包裹裏裝的是一個威爾森牌的排球。諾蘭帶著血跡的掌印使球看起來像一個恐怖的人，在它有了人的臉和頭發之後，諾蘭就把它起名叫威爾森。許多個月過去了，威爾森是諾蘭忠實的伴侶。他和威爾森講話，和威爾森一同歡笑，一同哭泣，和它分享最深的恐懼和希望。當諾蘭意識到他可能永遠也不能獲救的時候，他造了一只小船，並將威爾森放在船頭最顯眼的位置上。

      這個電影最感人的一幕，是當一場嚴重的風暴來襲時，威爾森被從它的位置上彈了出去，諾蘭被迫要做出決定，到底要救威爾森，還是救自己的性命。終於，他無可奈何地看著威爾森永遠地漂離了他的生命。

      諾蘭對於一個帶有血跡和人類特征的排球如此癡迷，戲劇性地提醒了我們一個基本的聖經真理：神以這樣的方式創造我們，使我們在健康、透明和愛的關系之外無法豐盛地活著。我們被造，是為了與神的關系，也為了與彼此之間的關系。實際上，聖經中一直貫穿著這樣一個信息：我們與神之間關系的跌宕起伏，影響著我們彼此之間的關系。神將你放在這裏，是為要使你能在這樣一個教會中建立以基督為中心的關系。

      今天我想要告訴你:在你所做的所有決定中，一個最重要的的決定，就是你是否願意委身於真正的屬靈團體。

      在我們教會的綱領中，提到了“大使命的一部分”，這就是其中這個講道系列的第四篇信息。我們說過，神介入了世上一個宏偉的使命之中，要使祂一切的創造都更新並成為完全。一切都與神和好（歌1：19-20）。其中所說的“一切”也包括你！我們教會委身於你在基督裏的成長，正如我們幾個星期以前在歌羅西書1：28所看到的：“我們傳揚祂，是用諸般的智慧，勸誡個人，教導各人。要把各人在基督裏完完全全地引到神面前。”

      你如何才能實現“在基督裏成為完全”的成長過程？上周，我們花時間思考了常常和全教會一起敬拜神的重要性，只有這樣，我們才能夠經歷到與基督同行時的成長，而這正是神所喜悅的。今天，我們要看一看與神的家相連結的第二個重要的途徑。我們稱之為團體。聖經中曾有多處教導我們有關在信仰團體中的生活，但是今天，我想讓大家專註在希伯來書10：19-25。

什麽是屬靈的團體？不要停止聚會......（希伯來書10:25）。

在10章25節中，被譯成“聚會”一詞的原文是“episunagogen”。你可能聽說過希臘文的“會堂”這個詞，它的意思是與人親密地在一起。正如我上周所說的，這節經文要求我們聚集在一起，與整個教會大家庭一同敬拜，就像我們現在所做的這樣。但是，我們從文脈中知道，整個教會聚集在一起的崇拜應當設定目標。我們需要因著我們上周所談到的那些原因一同來敬拜神。但是，當你讀到19-25節時，你會看到，這段經文是在呼召所有屬於教會家庭的成員，親自參與彼此的生活。我常會這樣說：鄰裏之間與團體成員之間有著天壤之別。

蒂姆·凱勒牧師的解釋略有不同。他說，“會眾比人群聚集有更深一層的含義。人群聚集就像一袋彈珠，而會眾則像藤蔓上的葡萄，彼此有機地連接在一起。“一袋彈珠可能緊挨著，但卻沒有彼此之間有機的聯系。而葡萄在藤上卻分享著同一個生命的源泉。從某種意義上說，雖然每個葡萄都各有某些方面的區別，但都在葡萄樹上與其它的葡萄相連接。

因此，一個教會團體不只是一群人聚集在一起聽音樂會、參加一個活動、或者聽一個演講，結束之後就各自離開。神希望教會的每個成員都與其他的成員連接在一起， 一起祈禱，一起學習，一起造就、互相鼓勵...

根據聖經，教會是一個團體（我稱之為一個家庭或屬靈的家庭）， 它不只是一個我們受教或得到啟發的地方。所以，希伯來書10:25的信息肯定是關於集體敬拜的。當我們聚集在一起敬拜的時候，會有美好的事情發生，當然，也並非一切都可以發生。希伯來書10：19-25向我們所有的人宣告，如果我們想要像基督一樣，那麽我們既需要一同敬拜，也需要一同加入小的團契，比如中型的主日學課堂或小組。

請看19-23節，它告訴我們，是什麽因素將一個教會聚集在一起。

我們有什麽共同點？ （10：19-23）我們有信心靠著耶穌的寶血進入至聖所。

“團體”與大家的共同點有關，希伯來書就告訴了我們關於這樣的共同點，比如，我們都蒙耶穌的寶血所救贖。在耶穌到來之前，即使連以色列的孩童都無法靠近神。在希伯來人中，只有大祭司可以代表所有的以色列人進入至聖所，而且每年只能在贖罪日進去一次。殿中有幔子將人們與耶和華神隔開。

然而，新約聖經教導我們，因著耶穌完美的生命和犧牲受死，我們這些相信祂的人，如今就有了權柄靠近神。我們可以憑著信心直接進入到造物主的同在之中，並稱祂為阿爸父。我想說明我們的一些共同點：

•     我們都犯了罪，並且都是因著我們自己的緣故，因而我們不能接近聖潔的神。正如第22節所說的，我們每個人都活在自己的罪疚之中，需要潔凈我們的罪。

•     我們得以見神 ，然而惟有藉著相信那為我們流出寶血的耶穌，才能將我們帶到神面前。

•     教會中在座的各位沒有一個人是完美的， 但是我們都有著一個切實的盼望，那就是神會信守承諾，使我們在基督裏成為完全人。正如24節所說的那樣，“也要堅守我們所承認的指望，不至搖動，因為那應許我們的是信實的。”

    跟隨耶穌的結果是，我們會成為非常謙卑的一群人。我們知道，祂的受死拯救了我們。所有屬神的人，都有這樣的共同之處。這就是我們的團體存在的基礎！因此，神將如何帶領我們進入基督完全？就是那運行在我們裏面的聖靈，這是神所賜給我們的重要禮物，使我們可以從罪疚中得自由，並在教會中，與大家一起在基督的生命裏成為完全人。

我充分意識到這樣一個事實：在當今，因為有許多教會沒有能力成為被恩典充滿的地方，而使得這類團體成為許多人批評教會組織的借口。有時候，人們批評一些地方教會過於企業化，只關心教會的增長與成功。另一些時候，人們批評我們過於自以為是，因而令人無法敞開自己的生命、作為一個罪人得到接納，也無法在眾兄弟姐妹中經歷基督裏的醫治。

如果這些對於教會或者對於我----你們的主任牧師的批評是真實的，那麽我真誠地向你們道歉，並宣布，我們要藉著運行在我們會眾之中的聖靈的工作，尋求被耶穌的恩典所塑造，我們渴望成為一個充滿恩典的團體。

因此，我們知道，我們不敢縱容自己生命中、或其他人生命中的罪性。與此同時，我們也謙卑地知道，我們不敢自以為是。我們唯一的盼望，就是神所找到的方法，使我們在祂裏面成為完全，那就是耶穌的寶血。作為蒙神恩典所拯救的人，我們要“彼此相顧，激發愛心，勉勵行善。”

讓我告訴你，在世上沒有任何一個地方，能使你找到一個蒙拯救的罪人的群體，聚集在一起，彼此幫助、互相成長，並且因著聖靈同在的能力，使我們的生命臻於完全。然而這就是神對我們的計劃，這正是教會的使命。

在教會的團體中必定要發生什麽？又要彼此相顧，激發愛心，勉勵行善(10：24)。

      若要讓我們每個人、乃至所有人都有所成長，一個教會關鍵要做到經文中所說的以下兩點：1）激發愛心；2）勉勵行善。當我們想到這兩個詞語的時候，我們就會認識到幾個非常實用的真理：

第一， 我們對彼此要有足夠深入的了解，才能對人的生活產生影響。

     在24節中，"彼此相顧"一詞乃是停下反省的意思。聖經呼召我們在教會家庭中建立這樣的平臺，使我們可以相互深入了解，對彼此敞開生命，從而知道如何幫助一個人更加敬虔。

     這對我們許多人來說遠非易事。有人說，姊妹要比弟兄更容易做到這點。我也聽說"千禧潮" 要比"嬰兒潮"的一代人更容易做到。我想，作為嬰兒潮時期的男性，我有眾多的借口可以使自己避免進入聖經教導我加入的這種團體。聖經說，如果我要成長，就要委身投入在社區中，如此才可以在生活方向上與眾人"彼此相顧"。在大型的公眾場合，比如大家一同敬拜之時，這是不可能發生的，有時候我們也不敢這樣做。而只有在小型聚會的時候，我們才可以彼此了解，互相信賴，以至能夠對彼此的生活產生影響。我們每個人都需要這樣親近的關系，才能夠彼此相顧。

      這樣的反思不需要帶著檢查或批評的色彩。只有在我們的成長和委身之中勉勵幫助，才是有效的方法。比如，在處理工作上有困難的人際關系時，或者在共同擬定一份能夠體現出我們的生活與理財方式的家庭財務計劃上，我們可能都會需要一些引導。也許我們有時候只是需要有人關心一下。我們的團體能夠提供一個平臺，使我們展現我們的勝利與掙紮，成功或失敗。它給了我們在基督的道路上邁向完全的一種彼此引導的方法。

第二，我們對彼此要有足夠的愛心，才會願意說出一些重要的事－彼此既有鼓勵、也有勸勉。

   在這裏，我希望大家思考一下在24節中的"彼此勸勉"這句話。 這是一個很強烈的字眼。這個字是用在一個騎馬的人身上，當他看到馬朝著危險奔去，力挽重導馬奔跑的路徑。重點是說，人常常看不到自己生活中破壞性的導向，但有時候別人卻看得見。我們常常試圖在自己的生活中隱藏一些事情，所以我們也需要一個地方，在那裏，我們無需再有所隱藏。這並不容易。怎樣才可能實現呢？

* 信任讓我們敞開自己真實的內心（ 這需要時間與誠實）

* 存謙卑、願意改正的心。

* 對人的敬重，使我們可以接受人的話語，而不帶著防禦性。

* 有勇氣提醒別人的生活，盡管我們自己也需要被"提醒"。

* 在愛中擔當風險，說，"我覺得你的生活給自己帶來傷害，也傷害你周圍的人，以及你與神的同行。"

   我們一定要有愛心，謙卑，勇氣對我們小組的人說，"我知道你心中放不下怨恨，但是你一定要饒恕。"我們知道你有婚外情，但是你要對神忠心，對配偶忠心，或者是對你未來的伴侶忠心。"我們需要一個團體，使我們可以在其中受人勉勵，也能勉勵他人。

第三，我們要準備好在生活的誘惑與試煉中彼此同行。

   在25節中，聖經教導說，在我們的團體中，人們不但"彼此勸勉"，也彼此激勵。 “parakaleo”這個字很美 –意思是被呼召與人同行。這就是耶穌在約翰福音第4章中所說的聖靈做的事。 我知道，在我的生命深處，我的成長既需要被質疑、也需要得到支持。我想你一定知道，有些人能將其中一樣做得很好。然而，教會團體兩樣都不可或缺。你和我這兩者都需要。當我們掙紮或者失敗的時候，我們要知道，這個團體不會放棄我們。"不要停止聚會...這是聖經的命令。永遠不要放棄你在基督裏的弟兄姊妹！耶穌永遠不放棄那些要明日希望改變的罪人。祂將盼望賜給妓女、稅吏、麻風病人、在十架上的強盜，以及我們。祂的家也應該如此。

榮耀歸給神，

Greg Waybright 博士

主任牧師

祂的荣耀，

格雷格Waybright博士
主任牧師

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Greg Waybright • Copyright 2015, Lake Avenue Church